Third spacewalk completed for Sophie Adenot

During the 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk, Sophie and Jessica completed several maintenance tasks, including replacing a spacecraft navigational aid, preparing a cosmic particle detector for future upgrades, installing jumper cables to enhance data relay capabilities, and collecting samples for the MicroOrganisms experiment.  

Sophie and Jessica switched their spacesuits to battery power at 14:41 CEST, officially beginning the extravehicular activity (EVA), before exiting the Quest airlock into the vacuum of space. 

After leaving the airlock, Sophie and Jessica made their way to separate work sites. Sophie translated to the forward port of the Station’s Harmony module, where she replaced a failed retroreflector, a device used by the spacecraft as a navigational aid during rendez-vous and docking operations. Meanwhile, Jessica rode the Canadarm2 to the location of a failed high-definition camera, which she replaced with a spare.  

Sophie then collected swab samples around the airlock and from her gloves for NASA’s MicroOrganisms experiment, which aims to determine whether microorganisms are released through the station’s life-support vents and how far they travel. She also relocated and installed power and thermal jumpers to enhance station power and thermal system capabilities. Meanwhile, Jessica worked on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, beginning preparation of a future upgrade, and relocated a portable foot restreint in preparation for the next spacewalk.  

Over three EVAs in just 15 days, Sophie has now accumulated 19 hours and 42 minutes of spacewalking time. EVA-99 was the 284th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.